Only Hope
by TARDIS Time Lord
Summary: Yaoi references. AkuDemy. Takes place after KHII. Demyx awakes naked... in his bedroom with Axel sitting in his chair.
1. Born Again, Born Good

A/N: I split it into 4 chapters so it doesn't seem so lengthy.

_There's a song that's inside of my soul  
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again  
I'm awake in the infinite cold  
But You sing to me over and over and over again_

Darkness. And Light. Only those two. A small wave of consciousness flew over Demyx's mind as he floated in the abysmal black. He remembered nothing, and thought nothing. All of his memories were slowly chipping away. His days as a nobody, his life before that. The life in the Organization. The time of his nonexistent-life. Then, he felt another probe into his mind. Something—or Someone—was calling him back.

Demyx opened his eyes to have Axel staring back at him. He was sitting in Demyx's chair before the computer, making a very un-Axel-like move by spinning around. Demyx giggled a little bit, and covered his mouth. Then he realized he was completely undressed. Axel was laughing from his chair.

"Axel! What did you do to me?"

"Nothing. _We_ all emerge from the darkness completely naked. At least you didn't disappear like most of the Organization," Axel said quietly. Demyx sat up, not caring if the sheets revealed himself indecently.

"Who?" Demyx demanded. "Not Chester!"

"No, Chester is under the bed," Axel reassured Demyx. Chester came out from under the bed, his antenna twitching towards Demyx.

"Chester!" Demyx yelled, and Chester immediately jumped into Demyx's arms. "Wait, who isn't back?" Demyx asked, hugging Chester to his chest.

"Mansex," Axel took a deep breath. "Saix, Zexion, Luxord, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Marluxia, and Larxene." Demyx frowned.

"So now there's only you, me, and Roxas?" Axel nodded.

"The rest are where we used to be. In the eternal dark." Demyx nodded, and almost fell over as Axel threw a black garment at him.

It was his old Organization XIII coat. He recognized it because it smelt faintly of his water. Which reminded himself of his Sitar.

"Wait, where's my Sitar?" Axel shrugged.

"I don't know where you leave your crap. I just have my Chakrams, which were in my closet where I always leave them." Demyx looked around his room, and set Chester down. He pulled on the coat, zipping it all the way so Axel couldn't see anything. Chester looked at him, twitching his antenna like he did 24/7. Demyx pat him on the head, and stood up. Slowly, Demyx looked all the places he used to put his Sitar, and found it in a custom-made case that was balanced on one of his various chests. Demyx strummed it a few times, and smiled. It was still tuned perfectly. Quickly, he walked over to his closet, and pulled on a pair of black pants, and then a pair of boots after. Axel spun around in his chair again when he thought that Demyx wasn't looking. Suddenly, Axel turned to the computer screen, and many different screens flashed. Demyx walked over to Axel, suspicious of what he had been looking at. Slowly, Demyx bent over Axel's shoulder, looking at the screen with Demyx's Sitar as the background.

"What was that?" he inquired, one eyebrow rising.

"What was what?" Axel asked innocently, giving Demyx a small smile like he had done nothing. Demyx reached over for the mouse, and pulled up Google Chrome. His top ten had been changed. His usual were MySpace, YouTube, Kh-vids, Facebook, Blogger, Addicting Games, Gaia Online, Yahoo, Shockwave, and Meebo. Now, it had many AkuRoku fansites and AkuRoku porn sites. Demyx frowned.

"Axel…. What were you doing on my computer?"

"Okay, I admit it! I was looking at fanart because Mansex had blocked it on my computer!" Axel gave Demyx another innocent face. Demyx erased his history, and shut off the computer. "You know Roxas hates it when I spy on him."

"You're gross, Axel!" Demyx yelled. Chester sat on Demyx's bed, tilting his head a little bit. Then, he started to dash out of Demyx's room. "CHESTER!" Demyx cried, following after the little heartless. Axel groaned, and followed after Demyx.

Axel was running after Demyx, barely catching up. The only thing he saw was the tip of Demyx's coat. Finally, Axel skidded to a halt, almost running into the shorter man.

"What is it?" Axel asked. Then he saw what Chester had been running after. A brown-haired young man was sitting on the floor, laughing. Chester was in his lap, twitching. A silver haired man was standing next to the other. There were four other bodies, a duck, two dogs, and a young woman. The man sitting on the floor had an uncanny similarity to Roxas. Axel immediately recognized him at once.

"Sora! Get off the floor of Castle Oblivion. And what the hell are you doing with a heartless?" the silver haired man asked. He had a bigger build than Sora's, and was still taller. "And why isn't that heartless trying to kill you?" The woman, who had reddish hair, looked at Sora with a confused look on her face.

"Riku, stop being so silly. He's a good heartless, you know?"

"No, I don't know," Riku said softly.

"A-hyuck, that Heartless is a nice one," Goofy stated

"Sort of like Sora when he was a heartless," the duck said with an accent so heavy that both Demyx and Axel almost couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Chester is a good heartless!" Demyx said, and Chester ran out of Sora's lap, and into Demyx's arms. Demyx smiled, and pat Chester's head. Sora jumped up, and his Keyblade appeared in his hands. Axel took a step back, putting his hands up defensively.

"Look, Mansex is dead. We have nothing against you all," Axel said, pointing out the very large window to where Kingdom Hearts used to be. Ironically, they were in the same room where Sora had defeated Saix that one day. Everyone except for Axel turned their head to the sky. Axel stopped Demyx's head from turning around. "Stop that."

"Oww, Axel! Stop!" Demyx whined.

"Don't look," Axel hissed. Demyx whined again, and turned his head to face Sora and the others. "So, what are you six doing in Castle Oblivion?"

"Searching for the king, a-hyuck."

"Don't tell him that, Goofy!" Donald yelled at the dog.

"Gawrsh, I'm sorry." Goofy said bashfully.

"Sora!" Another man yelled from the entrance "And Demyx!" He looked similar to Sora, their hair was the only big difference.

"Roxas! Wait, why are you here?" Sora asked.

"I called him from the darkness," Axel replied. "I couldn't go without my best friend." Demyx snorted out a laugh, and covered his mouth.

"Friend, yeah right." Axel shot him a glare. Roxas was in an Organization coat that had been stolen from one of the member's closets, as he didn't fit in his old one. Slowly, Roxas walked up to Sora and the rest, and hugged Sora tightly.

"This time I'm meant to exist."

"Where's Namine?" Kairi asked quietly.

"I can't locate her," Axel said. "Or else she'd be here." Riku pulled Sora away from Roxas, growling a little bit, and pulling Sora into a tight hug.

"Mine," Riku said protectively. Demyx's eyes widened.

"EWW!" Demyx yelled. Axel coughed a little, and looked away. The two Nobodies walked towards the other group, and both Donald and Goofy tensed visibly. Chester was nestled comfortably against Demyx's chest.

"We don't really have an objective. Because Axel is an idiot, he only called back me and Roxas," Demyx said, cringing when Axel hit him. "Can we join you? We have no transport to the other worlds. Our powers seem to mostly be gone. We can't make those portal thingies anymore."

"Sure," Sora said happily. "Wait, Xemnas is completely dead, right?" Axel nodded, and Demyx swayed from side to side, nodding.

"But Sora, we don't have enough room in our Gummi Ship!" Donald said low to Sora, and he smiled. "The only place we have room is in cargo."

"They can go in there until we get to Radiant Gardens and ask Cid to build us a bigger and better Gummi Ship," Riku countered.

"Alright, that's a good idea," Kairi said. Donald grumbled a little bit. They walked back to the Gummi Ship, Demyx getting his Sitar first and Axel getting his Chakrams. Donald flew the ship back to Radiant Gardens, and they disembarked.

Once they were out of the ship, the group was swarmed by Heartless. Everyone fought them off—including Chester, who was a great help. When they were finished with the fight Axel and Demyx laughed a little bit.

"Believe we're not the bad guys any more?"

"Yeah," Donald agreed. They walked to the main control room where Leon, Yuffie, and the rest were set up. At the sight of the three black coats, Leon jumped up.

"What are they doing here?" he said angrily.

"Leon, Leon, calm down," Riku said, walking deeper into the room. "They're back, but they're not bad anymore." Demyx waved nervously.

"Yet they bring a Heartless," Leon testified.

"Chester is a good Heartless! I saved him before the Keyblade got him," Demyx said, swinging around a little bit, and smiling. Chester looked up at Demyx, wiggling his antennae. Yuffie skipped over to Demyx, and pat Chester on the head. Chester made a sound, and pressed his head against her hand.

"He is good!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. You guys can join us," Leon said reluctantly. Axel jumped over to the couch, and sat down. "So, what are you three doing back?"

"Axel called us back," Demyx said, sitting next to Axel.

"Yeah, but I can't find the rest of the Organization." Leon nodded, understanding.

"Well, shall we head over to the Bailey?" Leon proposed, and stood.

"What's at the Bailey?" Riku asked.

"They've come back," Leon said, frowning. Riku and Sora nodded. Leon, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Axel, and Demyx headed out of the room.

At the Bailey, Leon led them to the edge. Heartless crowded around Hollow Bastion again. Sora groaned, and looked towards Axel.

"Hey, don't look at us. We didn't do that," Axel said defensively.

"Except for Chester, we don't have anything to do with the Heartless!" Demyx cried. Chester had been left at the Control Room with Yuffie. She was rather taken with the small Heartless, surprisingly. He liked her too, and Demyx was glad Chester had another friend besides himself. Roxas nodded in agreement.

"Without Axel, you guys wouldn't even have been able to beat Mansex."

"Okay, okay. Fine," Leon agreed. "Well, we either have a new enemy, or someone's back. With the King missing, it's not a wonder." Axel looked up at the sky.

"It's getting dark. We should go back." Everyone agreed with the Red-head.

Sora stood outside, looking at the moon.

"Sora?" Riku asked from the doorway.

"Yes, Riku?" he responded, turning around. Riku walked up to Sora, staring down at the shorter man. His eyes glowed bright blue in the moonlight.

"I love you Sora."

"I love you too, Riku!" They kissed, lightly at first, and then gradually kissed deeper. Roxas was watching from the window, smiling a little. Because of his ties to Sora, he felt a small attraction. Roxas chuckled, and leaned back against the wall.

"Roxas?" Axel said from the dark.

"Yes, Axel?"

"I'm over you." He walked up to the window, looking out at the two people. "So, let's just be best friends, like we used to!"

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. Axel smiled at him.

"Besides, my attentions have turned to someone else." Axel gave Roxas a smile.

"Who? Not Leon."

"Of course not, Roxy!" Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Who, then. Come on, you can tell me!"

"Demyx," Axel said with a slight smile.

"Really?" Roxas whispered, slightly shocked. Axel leaned against the wall opposite to Roxas. He smiled at him, remembering when he was not but fourteen.

"Yeah, and he's not a child either!" Roxas laughed, and stretched.

"Well, good for you. I'm going to bed now." He pushed himself off of the wall.

"Good night, Roxas."

"Night, Axel." Axel watched his best friend walk off, and smiled a little bit. When Roxas was gone, he looked back outside. Sora and Riku were talking quietly, in each other's arms. _Hope I end up that happy_, Axel thought. He was pulled out of his thoughts immediately at the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Axel?"

Axel immediately turned around at Demyx's voice.

"Yes, Demyx?"

"I had a bad dream," Demyx said, walking over to Axel, and putting his head on his shoulder. Axel rubbed the man's back in a comforting manner.

"What was it about?"

"Oh, it's stupid and you're going to make fun of me for it."

"No," Axel reassured. "I won't make fun of you."

"Okay, then I'll tell you," Demyx said slowly. Chester was still asleep in Demyx's bed, apparently. "I had a dream about Mansex coming back, and us losing against him." Axel nodded, understanding.

"He's not back, Demyx. I promise," Axel whispered, hugging Demyx.

"Oh, all right. Hey Axel?"

"Yes, Demyx?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Sure, come on. Let's go to bed," Axel said, putting his arm around Demyx's shoulders, and walked to the makeshift bed that was set up for Axel. They climbed in together, and Demyx cuddled up close to Axel. They fell asleep like that until morning.

Next morning, Axel awoke first, and gave Demyx a small kiss on the cheek. The man was still in a deep sleep, and he probably wouldn't wake up for a few hours. Axel's small peck didn't even stir the man. Axel stood, Demyx rolling over from the lack of a warm body. Thankfully, the Nobody didn't wake up. Axel went into the kitchen, searching for something to eat for breakfast. There was nothing, really, but a few Chocobo eggs. Axel groaned slightly, and took them out, starting to make scrambled eggs. His companions awoke to the smell.

"You're cooking again, Axel?" Roxas asked, rubbing his hair.

"Yup, I am. I haven't cooked since Xaldin was kicked out of the kitchen."

"You liked cooking, didn't you?" Demyx inquired.

"I did. It's one of the instances where fire is required." Sora laughed a little bit, and sat at the table. Both his and Riku's hair was messed up. Roxas laughed under his breath, sitting across from his Somebody. Kairi skipped out of her bedroom.

"Morning everyone!"

"Morning Kairi!" Demyx shouted, smiling.

"Those two have too much energy early in the morning," Roxas grumbled. Axel laughed, and put the plate of eggs on the table. He started making a pot of Coffee. Soon the aroma of Coffee and freshly made eggs filled the hideout. Leon and the rest came into the room, and were shocked at the sight of Axel.

"Morning everyone!" Demyx shouted, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Come in for breakfast," Axel invited. They all pulled out chairs, and sat at the table. Axel made more food, and finally sat down to eat.

"These are good," Cloud said, taking a bite. Axel smiled.

"Why thank you."

"I upgraded your Gummi Ship, so it has room for your whole group. Plus, I put in a new warp Gummi." Everyone listened to Cid talk about the Gummi Ship. Soon, he was finished in his explanation. Breakfast passed quickly without any hitches.

When everyone finished breakfast, Donald posed that they should get on with their adventure. No one could argue, and they went out to the Gummi Ship. Everyone boarded, and Donald pulled up the map. They studied it, and decided to go to the Pride Lands. Everyone strapped themselves in, leaning back as Goofy put the ship into gear.


	2. Saving the Pride Lands

Soon, they were in space, heading towards the Pride Lands. Demyx fooled around most of the ride, playing with Chester. They landed at the Pride Land, and Donald changed everyone into an Animalistic form. Most of the humans were full-grown Lions, except for Demyx. He was a cheetah, and was running around in circles. Axel stopped him, chuckling a little and shaking his head a little bit.

"Calm down, Demy."

"Yes, Axel!" They slowly walked through the Elephant Graveyard. Suddenly, at the entrance to the graveyard, they were attacked by Heartless. They summoned their weapons, and started to attack the Heartless. It was a quick battle, lasting only a few seconds. Everyone sighed deeply. Kairi growled a little bit, taking a defensive stance.

"We should get out of the Elephant Graveyard, and go to Pride Rock," she suggested. Everyone went off running, into the Pride Lands. Axel liked the feel of the wind across his fur, and started to jump while running. Demyx giggled, and followed after him, jumping higher. Axel growled, and jumped even higher. Soon, it became a competition between them. Riku sighed, looking over at Sora. Roxas laughed, and joined in. Soon, they were at Pride Rock, and they skidded to a stop. Simba trotted out to meet them. Sora jumped up a little bit, and Simba's eyes widened.

"Sora?" he shouted, running closer and laughed. Sora nodded, and the two lions circled each other. "I can't believe it's you!" Riku tilted his head to the side slightly, confused. "Wait, who are these guys?"

"Oh! These are my friends. Riku, Kairi, Demyx, Axel, and Roxas."

"And Chester!" Demyx shouted out, pointing to the Heartless on his back. Simba growled, and crouched low to the ground. "He's a good Heartless!"

"He is," Riku assured.

"A-hyuck, he is," Goofy assured. Simba relaxed, and Nala ran up.

"Sora!" she shouted, and the two Lions touched noses quickly. Riku growled, and Sora chuckled a little bit, backing back to Riku, and rubbing against him. Both Lions purred. "Well, I wasn't expecting that." Axel chuckled.

"Neither did I," Axel agreed, looking at Demyx. Demyx's tail twitched, and he closed his eyes like a small child. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, shall we go up to Pride Rock?" Simba offered.

They all arrived on Pride Rock in a few seconds. Lions were mulling about, some sleeping. Kairi yawned, and stretched while they were walking.

"Sora?"

"Yes?"

"Those Heartless guys are back." Sora nodded in agreement. Demyx growled a little bit. Axel calmed him down. Simba looked up, and panicked slightly. "We need to get into the den. They come out at night." Everyone nodded, and the lionesses were already slowly on the move. The group followed Simba into the den, finding a spot to sleep. Riku and Sora slept close together, Sora purring almost the entire time. Demyx slept over in the corner with Axel and Roxas. Axel and Roxas were talking quietly. Donald, Goofy, and Kairi were sitting in the doorway, keeping watch. In about the middle of the night, Demyx and Axel took over the watch for the rest of the night.

"Axel?" Demyx whispered. Chester was hiding under Demyx's legs, shivering in the cold night. Axel's attention swung to Demyx.

"Yes?" Axel replied. He was expecting a serious question from Demyx.

"If we're animals, then why can we talk?" Axel silently laughed, his entire body shaking. Demyx tilted his head to the side in a confused manner.

"I don't know, Demyx, I don't know." Demyx nodded solemnly, and lay down, looking at the stars. Chester scrambled out from under him, and snuggled into Demyx's fur. Axel soon heard Demyx snore softly, and kept watch for the rest of the night, until morning. Axel watched the sunrise.

Then, two young lions walked up. The male—who was a darker color—growled. The female crouched down, about to pounce at Axel.

"Kiara, it's okay," Simba said, trotting out, and meeting his daughter.

"Who are these Lions?" the male—Kovu—asked.

"They're my friends from before you were born." Sora and the rest had just walked out. Simba introduced all of them. Riku turned his face towards the sunlight, and Sora rubbed against him, purring. Demyx averted his eyes, waking up. He stretched, yawning. Axel blinked heavily. He yawned once, and shook himself.

"Do any of you have any idea where there might be a watering hole?"

"I'll show you, Axel!" Sora said excited. Kiara and Kovu stepped up.

"We'll join you, Sora." They nodded, and set off to the watering hole. They walked along slowly. Kiara looked at Sora suspiciously.

"You were alive before I was born?" Kiara asked. Sora nodded.

"Then you must be older than me, yet you look about the same age." Sora coughed a little bit, and looked at Riku for an answer.

"We're not from here. We're from a place where time goes faster." Kiara and Kovu looked at Riku skeptically. "Okay, fine, we're older than we look."

"Or we're older than we are, in Demyx's case," Axel deadpanned.

"What's that supposed to mean, you meanie face!" Demyx shouted.

"I rest my case," Axel said seriously. Roxas chuckled, and saw the watering hole ahead. Roxas sprinted to the water, soon followed by Axel. Axel immediately dipped his head into the water, waking himself up. His spiky red mane was completely dripping wet, and Demyx started laughing a little bit. There was a small thought in the back of Demyx's mind that had thought Axel's hair was naturally spiky. Those thoughts died in an instant. Demyx romped through the water with Sora, Riku, Roxas, and Kairi. All of them were laughing. Chester was testing the water with his foot, pulling it back when he felt the liquid. Soon, he was following Demyx around, jumping from Demyx's back to the watering hole and back again. Kiara, Kovu, Axel, Donald, and Goofy stayed put at the sand, watching with slight amusement. Suddenly, there were Heartless all around the watering hole. Chester hid in Demyx's hair immediately. Everyone jumped out of the water, and a battle pursued. If the Nobodies weren't there, it would've taken much longer. Thankfully, they destroyed the Heartless easily.

After the battle, Kairi sighed, and leaned against Sora. Sora jumped slightly at the weight, and Riku immediately came to Sora's side, growling. Kairi picked herself up, and sat next to Donald. Sora purred, and rubbed himself against Riku. Demyx coughed, and looked at Axel, who shrugged. They trotted away from the watering hole, and back to Pride Rock. They fought a few times again, with Heartless of course, until they reached their destination. Kiara and Kovu parted at the bottom.

"Tell father that we're going to be back home at sunset. We're going to the Elephant Graveyard to see if that's the source of the Heartless."

"We will!" Sora said, before turning around to the den. Simba was atop Pride Rock, fighting off Heartless. Axel and Demyx noticed this, and immediately sprinted to the top. They fought heavily, Demyx and Axel using their Chakrams or Sitar. Soon, the fight was over, and Simba thanked the two men gratefully. They bowed their heads before the King. Then, they walked down into the den.

Once there, Simba started looking for Kiara and Kovu to warn them against the numerous Heartless. Sora walked up to him.

"They left," Sora said, trying to remember the place.

"They went to the Elephant Graveyard, if I remember correctly," Riku completed, walking out of the den. Sora and him nuzzled gently.

"THE ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD!" Simba roared, sprinting off the rock. Donald, Goofy, and Kairi joined the group.

"We have to help them," Sora said, following Simba. Riku growled, and the rest of the group followed them. Demyx and Axel exchanged glances, and Demyx frowned. Axel had a large yearning in his nonexistent heart to comfort him. Everyone skidded to a stop when they saw Simba yelling at Kiara and Kovu to be more careful, and they could've gotten seriously hurt. Axel trotted up next to Simba, and looked at the lion.

"We apologize. It was our fault that it happened, as we let them come."

"No, it's their fault for coming here." Kiara growled a little bit.

"You're always protecting me when you don't need to, Dad!" she exclaimed, taking off. Kovu turned around, and followed.

"We'll bring her back," Sora said, and the group followed Sora. Simba sighed, and then decided to follow the group. They had many quick battles, most totaling less than six Heartless a battle. Soon, they came to a large rock wall, and found Kiara and Kovu backed against it. The rest of the cave was swarming with Heartless. They jumped into the battle, fighting quickly and efficiently.

It was about thirty minutes later, and the battle was finished. Every last Heartless was gone. Kiara leaned heavily against Kovu.

"I told you not to come in here!" Simba yelled.

"This is near where the Heartless are originating from," Kiara whispered.

"We got really close before Scar noticed us and sent Heartless against us."

"SCAR?" Simba yelled, growling. "Scar is back?"

"We saw him," Kovu explained. "Except it was weird. He was all purple and black." Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other, worried. Last time 'Scar' came back, Simba had been thrown into a pit of doubt and worry.

"We'll beat him," Demyx said simply.

"Yeah, we will!" Axel said, suddenly determined. Demyx grinned at Axel, and Axel smiled back. Roxas cheered a little bit.

"Yup!" Roxas said cheerily. He exchanged glance with his Somebody who was smiling. Goofy was laughing, swaying back and forth slightly.

"Shall we go?" Riku asked, motioning to the outside. Everyone followed him. Simba rounded on Kiara and Kovu.

"Go back to Pride Rock," he said sternly.

"No, Father! I won't," Kiara said stubbornly. Kovu purred to Kiara a little.

"Kiara, let's go back," he said looking at her. The eye that was away from Simba's sight winked slightly. Kiara hung her head slightly.

"Okay, fine." They turned, and ran away to the Pride Rock. Once there, they rallied the Lionesses to help the others.

After the two young lions left, the group turned around to the large opening leading to a cliff. They all crept forwards, looking down the small cliff. If a lion jumped, it would've survived the fall easily. Below, Heartless were buzzing with noise. There were various kinds. A purple and black Scar was in the middle, talking. Demyx jumped with surprise as he saw a lioness was lying next to him. Startled, Demyx fell off the cliff, and started trying to claw at the dirt. Then, he felt an instinct twist him around so he landed on his paws. Then, he was surrounded by Heartless. Axel shouted out to his friend, and jumped off the cliff, landing near Demyx. They started to fight for their lives, soon joined by the rest of their group and the Lionesses. Simba noticed 'Scar' leaving, and chased him, using his claws and teeth to make his way through the Heartless. Everyone else was too distracted to notice Simba.

Simba doggedly followed Scar as if his life depended on it. Finally, he found Scar at the top of another cliff; similar to the one Simba's father fell off of when Simba was not but a child. Quickly, Simba looked around, finding a way up the cliff. When he reached the top, Scar laughed a little bit and held Simba with piercing yellow eyes.

"You'll never be king!" Scar proclaimed, laughing again.

"I already am, Scar!" Simba lunged at Scar, throwing him backwards.

Riku sniffed at the air, jumping on a high bone, and putting his face in the wind. He smelled the heavy smell of defeat. They had all been fighting for over thirty minutes, the fight unrelenting. Sora looked towards Riku for a second, destroying a Heartless that lunged at Riku. Riku thanked him quickly, and jumped back into the fray. Suddenly, puffs of black and purple smoke appeared, and all of the Heartless were suddenly disappearing. Multi-colored hearts floated up quickly to the sky.

"What just happened?" Kairi asked, surprised. Sora shrugged, walking over to Riku, and sitting next to him. Donald landed on the ground for a second to rest his wings. Roxas and Axel exchanged glances for a second, and Chester ran around Demyx's legs. Kovu sighed, and Kiara slumped on the ground, huffing. The Lionesses mainly preened themselves: thankful the fight was over. Simba ran up, his sides heaving.

"Father! What happened?" Simba grinned, and nuzzled his Daughter gently.

"I just beat Scar. That's why all of the Heartless have all disappeared." Demyx cheered, running around in quick circles. Axel stopped him with his paw. Sora rubbed against Riku, purring loudly. Everyone else cheered. They went back to Pride Rock, and found the animals coming back. Slowly, the group made their way to the point of Pride Rock, and Simba roared loudly. Soon, Kovu accompanied him, and then the rest of the Lions—and one Cheetah—started roaring. They continued this for a bit, and then it was time for everyone to leave.

They waved good-bye, and went into the Gummi Ship, transforming into their original species. Demyx stretched up high, and yawned. He plopped down into his seat, and Chester crawled on his lap. Donald took the controls.

"You know," Axel started, sitting in his seat. "We didn't find any clues as to where the King may be." Kairi laughed humorlessly.

"That's true, Axel." Everyone took their seats.

"Maybe we'll find him in the next world," Roxas suggested.

"Maybe," Sora said, pasting a grin on his face as soon as they took off.

They were about halfway through the flight when people started to complain.


	3. Finding Love Unexpectedly

"I hate it that the ship runs on smiles," Riku said through his teeth.

"Once your cheeks stop burning," Demyx said. "It's really not that bad."

"My cheeks don't stop burning," Sora complained.

"THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS!" Donald yelled.

"Chester," Demyx thought out loud. "Sweets, my Sitar, not being on a diet…."

"My Chakrams, Roxas, Hair Gel…."

"Hayner, Pence, Olette, Sea Salt Ice cream…." Everyone listed all of their favorite things, and soon each person was lost in their own world.

The Gummi Ship landed at Radiant Gardens, and everyone walked off, rubbing their cheeks. Axel groaned.

"I don't think I'll ever smile again," Demyx said sadly.

"Really?" Axel said, shocked. "Never thought you'd say that!" Demyx smiled. "I knew you'd break that statement within a minute!"

"I'll smile if I want to!" Demyx shouted out stubbornly.

"Hey Demyx?"

"Yes Roxas?"

"If Chester is a Shadow Heartless, and all Shadow Heartless look the same, then how can you tell Chester from the rest?" Demyx thought about it.

"Well, Chester is a nice Heartless, and Chester is Chester ah—" Axel jumped on Demyx, putting his hand roughly over Demyx's mouth, shushing the man.

"Chester is in Demyx's hood when he fights, and shame on you for confusing him!" Demyx was still muttering incessantly, and when he stopped, Axel removed his hand slowly. Chester looked up at Demyx with bright yellow eyes.

"Getting past that," Kairi said impatiently, "we should go to Leon and the rest."

"I agree," Roxas said. Sora and Riku exchanged glances, and started off running to the hideout. Kairi rolled her eyes, and looked at Roxas. He looked back, and took off running. They all gradually followed the two men to the hideout.

Sora and Riku burst through the door at the same time.

"WE'RE HERE!" Sora yelled.

"Who was first?" Riku asked.

"I think it was a tie," Yuffie said cheerily. Aeris was walking around serving Barley Tea to everyone. Riku sighed, and they walked in the room. The rest of the group soon joined them. Chester jumped out of Demyx's arms, and investigated the place. Demyx giggled quietly, and walked into the room, sitting on the couch.

"Has anything happened while we were away?" Kairi asked.

"No, nothing," Axel said, sighing.

"Is it possible to stop the Gummi Ship from running on smiles?" Demyx blurted out. It was impossible to stop the man from having a filter on his mouth.

"I think there is a way, but it'll take me all day," Cid said.

"That'd be great," Riku laughed out.

"My cheeks are sore," Sora complained, leaning against Riku. Cid laughed, and walked out, waving good-bye to everyone.

Leon sighed, and leaned back against the chair. Slowly, he closed his eyes.

"Hey Leon, are the Heartless all gone?" Sora asked, curious. Riku was currently playing around with the large spike of Sora's hair, completely amused.

"There's still a few left, but not as many as there were. I mean, the Heartless that try to come into Radiant Gardens are all defeated by the Claymore system. Tron and the rest are keeping that in check, thankfully." Sora nodded.

"Then, shall we go?" he said, standing. Riku looked up at Sora.

"Where?"

"To fight the Heartless, Riku!" Sora shouted, his Keyblade appearing in his hand.

"I see your point," Axel murmured. "If we fight enough Heartless, maybe they'll all disappear." Sora nodded, grinning.

"My idea exactly!" he exclaimed. Axel stood from the kitchen table, walking over to Demyx and Roxas, who were sitting on the floor. He helped them up, and put an arm around both their shoulders. Demyx looked at Axel strangely.

"Then, we should get going!" It wasn't like Axel to be cheery.

"Something is up with him," Demyx murmured to low for anyone to hear.

The group (Sora, Riku, Demyx, Axel, Roxas, Goofy, and Donald) walked out into the alley, and to the Bailey, where they took the long way down to the valley where the Heartless were. Kairi and Chester had been left to take care of the hideout and protect it if anything should go amiss. Roxas and Axel exchanged quick glances, and they looked at the steel gate that was holding the Heartless in. Demyx sighed.

"Shall we go?" he asked reluctantly. Roxas's two Keyblades appeared in both hands. Axel's Chakrams appeared as well. Sora sighed, and his own Keyblade appeared in his hand. Riku kissed Sora, and his weapon appeared in his hand. Demyx smiled a little bit, used to their relationship. Axel swung his Chakrams.

"I think we should, Demyx," Axel agreed.

"We should probably strategize before going into the pit," Roxas recommended.

"I agree," Sora said, eyeing the gate nervously.

"I think we could jump over the gate," Demyx put in.

"Climbing would be better," Roxas offered.

"A-hyuck," Goofy shouted. "I don' like climbing very much."

"I agree," Donald said, hands on his hips.

"You're a duck," Axel said teasingly. "Why can't you just fly over?" Donald glared. Demyx chuckled a little bit. Goofy laughed, covering his mouth.

"I think we should just open it," Riku said quietly. This was the simplest, and most obvious solution that there was. Only problem was…opening the gate. The lock wasn't the problem—Sora could fix that—it was the flood of Heartless that would assault them after they cracked the gate. Riku fixed that.

"Demyx could place water doppelgangers, Donald could cast magic, and so on and so forth." Everyone thought this a good idea.

Demyx and Donald walked up to the gate, on opposite sides. First, Demyx started playing his Sitar, and Axel smiled a little bit, swelling with pride. Water clones appeared at once, and disappeared to the other side of the gate. Donald started casting Gravitia and Thundara, following one with the other. Sora walked up to the gate at Demyx's okay. Quickly, he raised his Keyblade, and the gate lock clicked, opening a little bit. Riku pushed open the gate, and Axel immediately threw a Chakram through the opening, destroying the Heartless that was about to escape through the opening. Everyone started fighting at once, pushing their way through the gate. Axel was protecting Demyx, who was nearly immobile with his Sitar-playing, and Riku drove through the various Heartless quickly. Donald and Goofy were covering each other, using teamwork.

It took about an hour, but they were finally at the end of the slope. Roxas sighed a little bit, before fighting again. It was nearly impossible, and relentless. Roxas was panting heavily, and Riku's sides were heaving. Demyx was leaning heavily on Axel, strumming his Sitar almost reluctantly. His fingers hurt quite a bit. Axel supported Demyx easily, his Chakrams flying everywhere except to hit his friends. Sora and Riku were slightly surprised as a Heartless that they'd fail to see turned into a puff of smoke. Then, the Heartless were all starting to do the same thing. Roxas tilted his head slightly, confused. They were standing in the middle of an empty valley.

"Okay…?" Sora said, looking around.

"Maleficent is back," a voice said from behind. It was very familiar, especially to Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy. They all turned around at once, shocked.

"Your Majesty!" Goofy yelled out. Mickey gave them a small smile. Riku sprinted over to the King, and picked him happily. He hugged him tightly. Everyone was delighted at finding the King. Riku put the King back down, and bowed.

"Excuse me for my behavior." Mickey laughed a little bit.

"Don't mention it, Riku!" Riku smiled.

"We have to go to Hollow Bastion," Mickey said, suddenly getting serious.

"How many times do you have to kill her for her to die!" Roxas complained. Axel shrugged, and sighed heavily.

"We should go back to the Hideout," Axel suggested. "Get a good night's sleep, and go vanquish Maleficent tomorrow." Everyone agreed. They turned around and walked up the slope slowly. When they were at the gate, Demyx couldn't help but look back. He thought he saw a lone shape near the edge of the valley.

They got to the Hideout quickly, and walked in. Aerith was serving Lemonade. Again, Leon refused it. Everyone else took a cup. Demyx collapsed on the couch, sighing. Axel sat next to him. Demyx took a sip of Lemonade.

"Thaaaaat was so tiring!" he complained, leaning on the back of the couch cushions. Chester ran up to him, and jumped on Demyx's lap. With his free hand, Demyx pat Chester's head lightly. Chester made a small noise, almost like purring. Roxas chuckled, and sat at the armrest of the couch, perching himself upon it. Mickey, Sora, Riku, Leon, Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith were conversing at the table.

Donald and Goofy fell asleep at the door, guarding from the inside. Demyx leaned on Axel heavily, his eyes drooping. Axel smiled at him a little, and kissed Demyx's forehead. Roxas fell off of the couch arm, and Demyx jolted awake, knocking Axel's head forward. He felt the impact on his chin, and bit his tongue. Demyx squeaked, and sat back. He took Axel's head in his hand, and saw the blood dripping down Axel's chin.

"Axel! Are you okay?" Axel coughed a little bit.

"Not really. I bit my tongue." Axel stuck his tongue out a little. There were little marks where his teeth had sown through skin. On an impulse, Demyx kissed Axel's tongue gently, and pulled away. A small blush was on each man's face, and Axel promptly stood up. He walked over to Roxas, who was still lying on the ground.

"Hey, Axel." Axel helped his best friend off the ground. "Thanks."

"Cure," Donald said, and Axel's tongue was healed. Some extra blood escaped down his throat, but he couldn't help but to be grateful. Demyx smiled weakly, and stood.

"I'm hungry, Axel," he complained. Axel walked over to the kitchen, and started to make dinner. Aerith helped, and soon dinner was ready.

Everyone sat in the living room, talking about tomorrow.

"I think we should take a day off," Cid offered, and Demyx agreed.

"I'm so tired from today," Sora complained, rubbing his shoulders. Riku put his bowl down, and dragged Sora into his lap, starting to rub Sora's shoulders instead.

"So am I. I'm all sore," Axel said quietly. Demyx smiled at him.

"I think that'd be the best thing," Leon amended. So, they decided to take a day off, and meet Maleficent tomorrow.

Everyone had gone to sleep except for Demyx and Axel. Neither of the men could sleep, and they were sitting near the window, talking about tomorrow. Axel was looking out the window, staring at the stars. Suddenly, Demyx crawled over to Axel, and kissed him. Axel's eyes widened as he felt himself kissing the other man back.

"Axel," Demyx whispered, and Axel immediately took control, pressing his lips to Demyx's roughly. Demyx complied, of course, and when they separated, a small trail of saliva connected Axel's tongue to Demyx's mouth. It dropped, making a small noise on Axel's knee. Demyx and Axel sat there for a few seconds, not talking. Then, Axel hugged Demyx, and dragged the smaller man to his lap.

"I love you, Demyx," Axel murmured, averting his eyes.

"I love you too Axel." Demyx cuddled close to Axel, wrapping his arms around his neck. Axel chuckled a little bit, and nuzzled Demyx's cheek.

Next morning, Sora was the first to awaken. He wriggled his way out of Riku's arms, and rolled out of their makeshift bed. He walked out to the living room, and immediately saw Axel and Demyx. Both men were sharing a blanket, and they were cuddled in each other's arms, and… naked…. Sora averted his eyes as he saw Axel waking up. Demyx woke up directly after that.

"Oh shit." Axel fell out of the cot, and Demyx turned around to face Sora.

"Morning Sora," Demyx said with a nervous laugh. Sora chuckled just as nervously, and waved. Demyx pulled his clothes off the floor, and dressed under the blankets. Axel dressed on the floor.

When breakfast was made—by Axel, of course—the three men sat at the table, eating. Chester was sitting in Demyx's lap.

"Doesn't he get hungry?" Sora asked.

"It would appear to not be so," Demyx said. "Unless he goes out in the middle of the night, and hunt for hearts." Chester made a small noise as if saying 'yeah, right.'

"So," Sora started. "How did you two arrive at the fact that you love each other?"

"We don't know. I just kind of kissed Axel last night when we were sitting near the window." Sora sighed a little bit, and chuckled. "What about you and Riku?"

"It was rather quick, actually. One minute we're friends, and the next… I'm on my back and Riku was kissing me." Axel smiled.

"Exactly! That's what happened." He exclaimed, holding Demyx's hand where Sora couldn't see. Roxas and Donald walked out into the kitchen, and grabbed a plate of Axel's food. He had made a plate for everyone, of course, and it was sitting in the oven at a very low temperature so that the food didn't get cold.

"Thank you Axel."

"Welcome Donald and Roxas."

"Today is the big day," Roxas said nervously. Demyx nodded.

"Yeah. I'm excited," Demyx said sarcastically. Axel put his hands up, and did a wave. Demyx followed it, and then Roxas. They all laughed. Riku walked into the room, and grabbed a plate, perching on the counter. "Morning."

"Good morning," Riku said happily, attacking his food. Everyone watched in disbelief as Riku ate the entire plate in less than five minutes. When he was done, Riku put the plate in the sink, and walked over to the table. He gave Sora a long kiss.

"Morning, Riku." Riku licked his lips a little.

"Morning." Kairi coughed, and walked into the kitchen.

"All right you two lovebirds, break it up." Riku straightened, and Kairi was practically glomped by Roxas jumping up from his chair, and giving her a bear hug.

"Morning Kairi!" he shouted, spinning them around.

"Good morning, Roxas."

Breakfast was spent talking about how they would infiltrate Hollow Bastion, and it was decided that they would just walk up to the doors—Riku still had a key—and find the source of everything that way. Everyone got up from the table, and Mickey wrote a note to Leon and the rest telling them that they were starting the last and final battle. Everyone left, Demyx bouncing ahead of the group with Chester in his hood. They soon reached the looming castle, and the entire group had to crane their heads upwards to see the top of the building. Sora gulped.

"Holy crap," Axel whispered quietly. They had ended up at the back of the group, and he held Demyx's hand lightly.


	4. Final

"That's our destination," Riku deadpanned. Heartless appeared before them, and the group fought them quickly. "That's where we have to go." They quickly walked up to the main gate, and walked through. Riku lead them quickly to the library, and sat at the table. Everyone stood around for a few seconds, waiting to get attacked.

"Heartless don't come in here," Riku assured.

"Good," Axel said nonchalantly. Everyone else sat down at random tables, most sighing. "I think we need a quick rest."

"Anyone mortally hurt?" Kairi asked. Everyone shook their head.

"Because you can just see the blood dripping all over the floor where someone walked," Axel said sardonically. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"We should get moving in a few minutes," Sora advised, leaning heavily on Riku's chest. Riku stroked Sora's arm gently, leaning against the back of the chair heavily. Everyone separated to go research books.

Demyx was sitting on one of the tables in the back, strumming his Sitar quietly. Axel was reading a book about the Origin of Nobodies. The two men sighed at once, and Demyx stopped playing. One of his hands found Axel's, and he held it lightly.

"I love you, Axel." Axel smiled, standing up.

"I love you too." Gently, they kissed. Soon, the light kiss became deeper, and the gradually deeper. Demyx fell back on the table, brining Axel with him. Both legs went around Axel's waist loosely. Axel ground their hips together, finding Demyx's lips, and kissing him more. Demyx moaned into Axel's mouth, rocking with his lover.

"Axel," Demyx moaned incessantly, grinding harder. Axel panted, and kissed Demyx with all of the passion in his body, and left the smaller man out of breath. Slowly, Axel coaxed Demyx out of his pants.

"We should probably get going!" Kairi called from the door. Demyx and Axel walked out from behind the bookshelf. They both had small smiles on their faces. The quickie that they had just had satisfied them both to go on, and not touch each other…. No matter how hard the urge was. Kairi pushed down the handle, and the gathered group walked out into the foyer. A cloud of black sprang up from the ground. In it was Maleficent and Namine. She was sitting, tied, in a chair.

"Namine!" Roxas called, reaching out for her. Maleficent laughed a little bit, and Namine was lifted up, out of their reach. "Namine!"

"Roxas!" Namine called back, struggling. Suddenly, a large black and purple dragon was before the group, roaring loudly. As if by magic, everyone was thrown against the wall. The only one to break free was Roxas, and he stood in front of Maleficent. He lunged at her, and was thrown back. Quickly landing on his feet, Maleficent breathed fire throughout the room, scorching everything but the people against the wall and Roxas. He had dodged it. Roxas yelled, and hit the top of Maleficent's head, and she disappeared into the ground with a loud shrieking hiss.

Everyone was released, and Roxas barely caught Namine in time. She had fallen away from the chair, landing in Roxas's arms. A hearty laughter filled the room, and the floor was suddenly covered in cool smog. It curled up, massing in the air.

"What now?" Demyx groaned, leaning heavily on Axel. A human form started to quickly take form in the air. Riku jumped up, and slashed at it, to no avail.

_Riku._ A familiar voice seemed to manifest inside Riku's mind. _Riku…. Remember me?_ Riku groaned, holding his head in his hands when he landed onto the ground. _So you do._ The voice was sardonic, sarcastic, and deep.

"Ansem…. I should really say Ansem's Heartless." More laughter filled the room. The source was the fog mass. "So you took over Maleficent like you took over me."

"Yes, Riku." Sora loped over to Riku's side, helping him up.

"I had a feeling that the Heartless Xehanort was back," the King said.

"Well, you were right," Axel whispered. Sora groaned, and the Heartless panted his feet on the ground. "We might as well fight." He threw one of his Chakrams at the man, and it passed right through him.

"He's still mist. He has yet to solidify," Namine pointed out.

"Yeah, I guessed that." Axel caught the Chakram, sighing. He threw it again, and Xehanort dodged. "I'm guessing he's solid now." Namine laughed without humor.

"Yeah." The group made a circle around Xehanort, and rushed forward at once, slashing at the man. Some of them hit some of them didn't. Riku had slashed viciously at Xehanort's side, slicing it open with his Way to the Dawn. Xehanort clutched his bleeding side, and was finished by Sora cutting his neck.

Loud cheers filled the hall. Demyx jumped in Axel's arms, and they kissed each other roughly. Sora jumped on Riku, wrapping his legs around the larger man's waist.

"You did it, Riku-kun!" Sora shouted, kissing Riku's lips. Everyone's attention was now centered on the other two men.

"WHAT!" Kairi shouted, pointing at Demyx and Axel in disbelief.

"Uhh…." Demyx was looking at his toes in embarrassment.

"Yeah, we're together. So what?" Axel asked, wrapping his arms around Demyx's waist, smiling. "We love each other.

"When did we come to this conclusion?" Namine asked.

"Last night, I think," Demyx concluded, smiling.

Aerith started dancing around the room with Yuffie.

"Xehanort is gone! Xehanort is gone!" she sing-songed. A large grin was pasted on everyone's face. "We need to have a festival." Leon groaned.

"Really? What is it? The third time that he died?"

"It's the last time, though!"

"Okay, so we should have a festival," Leon mumbled, sighing.

Fireworks shot into the sky, lighting everything up in colors of blue, red, yellow, green, purple, gold, and many others.

"It's so pretty!" Demyx shouted, jumping up and down, trying to grab at the lights. Axel was smiling, and grabbed Demyx's hand, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Our adventure as Nobodies is over. Did you feel it?" Demyx smiled, and nodded.

"Yeah. I felt a heart in my chest…. For the first time." Axel spun them around.

"We're finally complete," Axel murmured against the smaller man's lips. "How about we go live in the country somewhere. Close the city boundaries, where nothing can touch us? You can practice music, and we can cultivate the Earth. We won't have to go to a grocery store, and we can raise Chocobos and Cuccos." Demyx hummed a little bit, sighing. "We can get a few horses, and people can come and visit us."

"That'd be perfect." Axel let the smaller man go, except for one arm was still tightly tucked around Demyx's waist.

"I love you, Axel."

"I love you too Demyx. More than you could ever know."

_Sing to me the song of the stars.  
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again.  
When it feels like my dreams are so far  
Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again._


End file.
